PRENGLAR --- following graduation you will be recruited into the 52nd SFC Tactical Fighter Squadron, aka "Firebird Squadron", which is currently stationed at Morgaine's World. Here you shall recieve some stick time in various simulated and live fire training exercises so that you will be better prepared for combat duty.

Your group fared well during finals week. You engaged in simulated free-for-all combat as well as squadron versus squadron dogfights. Following that you went through a live fire exercise where you engaged against stationary and moving drones alike. It was a tough ten days, but everyone made it through.

In fact, your class performed exceptionally well, well enough to attract the attention of Lieutenant Zachary "Zack" Tyler, presiding squadron leader of the 52nd SFC Tactical Fighter Squadron, aka "Firebird Squadron". The 52nd is considered one of the finer units in the Corps, with a long list of successful missions. To be assigned with the 52nd...now that would be something to write home about!

The graduation ceremony commences, with Lt. Valerie Jameson and Flight Officer Randalf Tylappar handing out your wings and Flight Cadet insignia respectively, as well as the congratulatory salutes. The ensuing celebration lasts for several days, and soon you recieve your orders. The presence of Flight Cadets Rhiannon Moseley and Alex Pilgaard are ordered in docking bay #5 of Morgaine's Station, you will both be serving under Lt. Tyler in the 52nd!

Small talk ensues during the shuttle trip to Morgaine's Station, during which Sebastian and Grobber both mention former classmate Dawntreader was assigned to another squardon operating out of Pale (Truane's Star).

The shuttle finally makes berth in Morgaine's Station and you make your way to docking bay #5. Gravity is about 0.1 here so it takes little effort to move, but you can plant yourselves firmly enough if you don't fidget. The bay has six F-40C Vulcans berthed within, and you begin to admire their graceful yet lethal lines through the viewport. Once inside the bay and assembled, you find a few more familiar faces. First and foremost, you immediately spot the dwarvish Capellan named Klaxton who was your ground crew trainee in charge of the training craft. His uniform boasts the official Deck Officer insignia now. Accompanying him is the most massive yazirian you have ever laid eyes upon, towering over teh ifshnit at nearly two and a half meters and possibly massing 150 kilos! Both are barking orders to their subordinates, who bustle about from fighter to fighter. The ifshnit looks up, seeing your group assembled, and recognizes you. He bursts out in laughter, and makes his way over to offer a salute and handshake. "Welcome to the 52nd! I had a feeling your group would go far. Glad to be working with you once more!"

Another group of six files into the bay, obviously the gunnery corps. This group consists of a visually scarred female human, a rather runt-ish male yazirian, a dralasite that carries himself with an air of confidence (and arrogance) seen only in SpaceFleet, a female vrusk with cold yet calculating eyes, a tall blond female human with a patch over her left eye, and yet another odd denizen hailing from the Rim that most of you had only read about: a multi-handed Osakar. They begin to look your group over, just as you catch yourself doing to them...

Before you get a chance to mingle, one more being enters the hangar: a tall slender human with black wavy hair wearing an SFC issue flight suit boasting a stylized firebird logo accompanied by two gold bars and a chevron (the SFC Lieutenant insignia). He pushes a duffle to the deck "C.O. on the deck!" someone shouts out, and everyone snaps to attention.

Tyler smiles and shrugs it off. "Each of you have proven yourselves during your class time and on the sim fields. I found myself in a dilemna, having the bulk of my subordinates reassigned to more active hot spots near the edge of the Frontier. The Firebird Squadron has held a long standing reputation for chruning out some of the finest pilots, gunners, and ground crew to serve in the Frontier. Since I had a few openings, I took it upon myself to snatch up some of the SFC Acadamy's finest graduates. So now it's time to see what you're made of."

He retrieves a plasti-card from his duffle. "Now for the duty roster. Flight Officer Stone, as the sole remaining active pilot from the last round of Firebirds, you are desingated group leader and will assume the mantle of Alpha 1. I trust you'll want to be paired with your lady-yaz gunner again?" (now you know who you'll be answering to) Tamara salutes and retorts, "Yes sir, she's a fine shooter."

"So be it." He browses over the roster. "Flight Cadet Pilgaard, I'm assigning you to the Alpha 2 slot. That means you'll be a flight leader when your squad breaks up into pairs. Congratulations."

He browses over the card again. "Flight Cadet Moseley, you'll take up Alpha 3. That makes you the final flight leader. Way to go."

With that out of the way, he shoves the card back into his duffle. "Flight Leaders have the option of selecting their gunners and wingmen according to their ratings (meaning Alpha 1 gets first crack, followed by 2 and 3). I'll leave you all to get better acquainted with each other for the next hour, at which point I shall return with your mission briefing." He scoops up his duffle roll and retreats from the bay._____________________________________________

OOC --- since Pilgaard was faring better during the proving grounds (considering how Ree's craft had suffered several hits and was on its last leg), I assigned him as Alpha 2. Terl will have first pick of either a gunner or wingman...whichever he selects then Will may pick one of each (a gunner and wingman), and then Terl may select the other position he didn't pick from the first time around.

Stone has already selected her gunner, San-Dinah...and her wingman will be Sebastian Rogers (designated as Alpha 4).

That leaves your choices for wingman position to be filled by either Grobber "Ice" Jaloub, Jak "Jokhi" Rapier, or Skyt-Zotl "Skytzo". Again, their stats can be found at viewtopic.php?f=38&t=37

So to recap, Terl may select from one list or the other, then Will may make a selection from EACH list, followed by Terl selecting from the remaining list he did not choose from the first time.

I will assign leftover gunners to the remaining NPC pilots (Bach, Jokhi, Ice and Skytzo). The leftover pilot will be designated as Alpha 8, a reserve pilot that can be called upon if things get too heated, serving as wingman to Tyler (alpha 7).

Relieved that finals week was over and refreshed (sort of) by the celebrations after graduation, Alex is surprised and elated to receive his posting to the 52nd "Firebird" squadron.

Surprised at being given the Alpha 2 slot, Alex spends the next hour talking to the other team members trying to judge personality, skills and experience. He focuses more on the gunners as he'll be spending a lot of time with one of them as his 'backseat' and the initial choice of a gunner will probably much more important than his choice of wingman. In the end, he's torn between the dark, but obviously highly skilled, Alita Ellis and Del-itica, the intelligent and insightful older Vrusk on the team.

Realizing he might regret it later, but deciding in the end that the business end is what matters the most, Alex selects Ellis as his gunner. He's dealt with mean plenty of times during the War, and if she tends to be a recluse as conversations tend to suggest when off ship, then so be it. Plus she favors the same melee weapon, nothing's better than a weapon that leaves a jagged hole in your enemy. Besides, if she ended paired up with Moseley, one of them might not survive the first month, and odds were against the teenager.

Alita faces Alex, saluting at his selection. "Gunnery Officer Ellis reporting for duty, sir!" She drops the salute and ends with "I just want you to know that I'm all about business and do not believe in mixing pleasure in with it."